Texture development in alumina that contains calcia and silica and has been templated with platelet-shaped alpha -Al2O3 particles has been evaluated. The texture fraction is shown to be related directly to template growth. Texture quality is controlled by the template concentration, decreasing at template concentrations of >10%, as a result of template-template interactions during tape casting. Almost fully textured alumina has been obtained at template concentrations of greater than or equal to 20%. The growth of template grains is much more rapid in the radial direction and is shown to be inversely related to the thickness of the grain-boundary liquid. The activation energy for growth (376 KJ/mol) and the inverse relation with the grain-boundary thickness indicate that template growth in the radial direction is controlled by Al3+ diffusion.